West Clermont names new superintendent

West Clermont Local School District Superintendent Dr. Gary Brooks, right, congratulates Dr. Keith Kline after he was named by the board of education as the new district superintendent Jan. 28. He will begin work Feb. 1.

Dr. Keith Kline was named the new West Clermont Local School District superintendent Jan. 28.

Current Superintendent Dr. Gary Brooks is retiring Feb. 28. Brooks has served as superintendent since August 2004.

Kline, who has served as the assistant superintendent for administration and human resources for the past six months will start Feb. 1.

Kline's prior experience includes 18 years as a principal and assistant principal with both the Kettering and Lakota school districts and 10 years as a band director/district music coordinator in the Dayton area.

At the top of the list of priorities for Kline is school safety. "Without a sense of security, good teaching and learning can't take place. In conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, our staff and community need to come together so that we can make sure that our most important assets are safe when they come to school," he said.

In addition, Kline said he wants to take a hard look at what students are learning to prepare them for the future and make sure they are all college and career ready and also to come together as a community to make sure the school district has a sustainable financial future.

The board was unanimous in its decision to hire Kline. School board president Doug Young said Kline "brings a lot to West Clermont. We have seen his work first-hand over the last six months."

Board vice president Jo Ann Beamer agreed. "I think he's going to establish a great leadership team which will include a vision and plans for the future," she said. "We are looking forward to a lot more."

Until he retires from the school board at the end of February, Brooks will be working with local law enforcement professionals to discuss school safety and also will be working on redesigning the school district's social media presence.

Brooks said he feels like he accomplished a lot in his eight and a half years as superintendent. Among his proudest achievements are replacing two of the oldest school buildings with new structures and, "getting the Excellence with Distinction Awards for several of the schools," he said.

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West Clermont names new superintendent

Dr. Keith Kline was named the new West Clermont Local School District superintendent Jan. 28.